


Come the morning

by ladylapislazuli



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Introspection, M/M, Morning After, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23128285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylapislazuli/pseuds/ladylapislazuli
Summary: Dedue is a rational man. A steady one, in every other aspect of his life. Methodical, hard-working, not inclined to theatrics or melodrama.And yet there is this.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 42
Kudos: 255





	Come the morning

Dimitri is asleep in Dedue’s bed.

He sleeps soundly on his back, his face soft, his fair hair splayed out on the pillow. Covered by a sheet, though a bare, muscular arm is thrown up by his head. It is still dark, but early rays of light are seeping in through the window. Bathing Dimitri, moment by moment, inch by inch, in a gentle glow.

Dedue should draw the curtains. He is loathe to let the light wake Dimitri, loathe to let anything disturb his slumber, but he cannot look away from the sight of him even for a moment.

He lies in Dedue’s bed. _Dedue’s_ bed. Dedue never thought – he did not dare to envision -

He stands by the window. Has stood here for some hours, for he cannot sleep. Woke early in a tangle of limbs, feeling the warmth of Dimitri’s skin against his, feeling the rise and fall of his chest. Not just knowing that Dimitri breathes, as all must do, but _feeling_ it. There is something intimate about that Dedue cannot put a name to.

Dimitri is a king. His king. Dedue has no business being so close to him, holding him, sleeping beside him. Dedue is Dimitri’s vassal, a common man. Nothing more.

_Dedue, my beloved, my dearest._

Dedue’s heartbeat is rabbit-quick. _Beloved_. In that deep voice he knows so well. Slightly broken, fearful, earnest. Beloved.

It does not make sense. It does not. But his heart will not stop its beating.

Dimitri shifts in his sleep. His lips parting, head tipping. His lashes flutter, just a moment, before they still again. There is a bare hint of stubble on his jaw. Dedue knows, because he felt it. Touched it. _Kissed_ it.

Dedue cannot believe it. Only yesterday, Dimitri was tense, standoffish, distant. Jumped when Dedue entered the room, not quite able to meet his eyes.

 _I_ _\- Dedue. Please, I would speak with you._

 _Of course, Your Ma_ _-_

 _Ah_ _\- no. Not Y_ _our Majesty. Not… not right now. Give me leave, just this once, to speak with you man to man. I beg you._

So tentative. So careful. All too aware of the difference between their ranks. _Asking_ , as though there is anything in the world Dedue would not give him. As though Dedue has not loved him and loved him and loved him, more than any words could possibly express.

Dedue shuts his eyes. Takes a steadying breath. He is dreaming, he must be. And yet here he stands, wide awake.

Dimitri shifts in his sleep. A vision, the handsomest man Dedue has ever known, scars and all. Carved by the hand of the Goddess, every inch of him perfection, from the broad lines of his shoulders to the narrow taper of his waist. Strong jaw and that blue, blue eye. And further, beneath the slip of sheets, his shapely calves, his muscular rider’s thighs, his -

Dedue pulls himself up, a habit long ingrained. Unseemly, to think such thoughts. To admire, to _want_ , what Dedue has no business wanting.

Yet here Dimitri sleeps. Wrapped in Dedue’s sheets, head resting on Dedue’s pillow. His warmth seeping into Dedue’s bed. And last night… last night…

Dedue can still feel the phantom touch of Dimitri’s hands on his neck, his chest, his waist. If he closes his eyes, he can feel the press of Dimitri’s lips against his. Can remember how Dimitri’s hair felt as it ran through his fingers, and the exact texture of the scar across his eye when Dedue kissed it.

Now he knows, he can never unknow it. Feels half-mad even at the thought.

Dedue is a rational man. A steady one, in every other aspect of his life. Methodical, hard-working, not inclined to theatrics or melodrama.

And yet there is this. This incessant beating of Dedue’s heart, Dimitri’s name emblazoned upon it like burning fire. This joy, whenever his eyes fall upon Dimitri’s face. This _need_ for him, as real and visceral as the need for food and water. Irrational, utterly, and yet he cannot stem its tide.

It is frightening, sometimes, how much Dedue loves him.

The light creeps further up Dimitri’s sleeping form. Up the long line of his neck, the sharp jut of his jaw. About to reach his eyes, and Dedue draws the curtains closed at last. Lets Dimitri sleep on.

In his bed. Dedue could live a thousand lifetimes, and he would still not have the wisdom to understand it.

Dimitri is all fire and air. Temperamental and contradictory, power and vulnerability in one. He is dutiful, righteous, kind to a fault, for the suffering of the world hurts him deeply. Dimitri is breathlessly intense, feels things so keenly, blazes down every path he takes.

And Dedue is Dedue. Steady, and quiet, and slow-acting. Thoughtful, but not in a way others see, for there are parts of himself Dedue keeps under lock and key. Things he does not say, thoughts he will never speak. He is the king’s shield. His service to Dimitri is the most interesting part of him – there is not much else to speak of. Dedue is a quiet soul, and others have always told him so. Plain, common, even dull.

Dimitri is a whirlwind, forging a new path for his kingdom while Dedue stands quietly in the greenhouse potting plants.

 _I adore you. You must know… you must know, Dedue, how much I adore you_.

Dedue could not speak, then. Still cannot speak now, throat tightening, for he cannot believe it. It is a dream, a fantasy, a hopeless, fruitless wish.

_Dedue, my beloved. Dedue._

The sun rises, and even with the curtains drawn, light sneaks through. Dimitri is stirring, shifting, waking. He lets out a hum. Rubs his head into the pillow, mussing his hair.

Dedue’s breath stills in his lungs. Dimitri is in his bed - one night, perhaps the only one. Dedue dare not hope. He cannot.

Dimitri’s eye opens. He exhales, looking to the space beside him, finding it empty. He raises his head, sees Dedue by the window. Smiles.

He smiles.

“Good morning,” Dimitri says. Voice rough with sleep, rubbing at his eye. Sheets slipping down his bare chest as he sits up. A vision Dedue scarcely dared to imagine.

Then he pauses. Looks to Dedue, more alert. Worried, all of a sudden, to find himself alone in bed. Dimitri's brow furrows, his fingers dragging at the sheets, and Dedue can read his thoughts. He knows him better than anyone. 

It is impossible. Improbable. That Dimitri fears _Dedue’s_ rejection, as though Dedue has not loved him with every piece of him, with every last beat of his heart.

“Dimitri,” Dedue says. _Dimitri. Dimitri._

He goes to him, because he cannot help it. Sits down on the bed and reaches out to brush his fingers against Dimitri’s cheek, still half-convinced he is dreaming. That he is allowed this, of all the people in the world. That it is his bed Dimitri lies in, his heart Dimitri wants.

Dedue would do anything for him. Anything. His one madness, his one great flaw, for Dedue is a man of reason and moderation. Yet he cannot help the way he loves Dimitri, no matter how he has tried.

He leans forward. Kisses him with the barest brush of his lips. Still too much, because this is Dimitri, and Dedue would do _anything_.

"Come back to bed?" Dimitri asks. Still soft with sleep, leaning into Dedue's caressing hand. Handsome, vulnerable, real.

Dedue cannot speak. Quiet, even in moments like this. He can do nothing but slide back under the sheets, holding Dimitri to him. Pressing another kiss to his lips, watching the way Dimitri's eye lights up. Watching the way Dimitri smiles.

 _Beloved_ , Dimitri called him. And Dedue would do anything.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm working my way up to big kid dimidue, just writing something soft in the meantime
> 
> i'm @ladylapisxx on twitter :)


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